In the games, Absol's base stats are not particularly high, sitting at 465. Except for its Physical Attack, its other attributes are mediocre, and even its Mega Evolution doesn't fully redeem it, making it essentially useless except for its cool appearance, resulting in extremely low usage.
However, in the real Pokémon world, Aomori felt that Absol had significant room for growth. In addition to its rare ability to sense nature, it could learn the skill Future Sight, which had great untapped potential.
Therefore, Aomori was willing to use a pet slot to bet on its growth potential.
"Absol, don't disappoint me."
"Absol!"
Ding!
[Do you wish to establish a Pet Contract with the Pokémon Absol? Note: A fee in Points is required to terminate the contract.]
"Yes!"
A golden light ignited on Aomori's body, gradually spreading over Absol. A bond seemed to connect the two.
Ding!
[Player Aomori and the Pokémon Absol have established a Pet Contract. Congratulations! Congratulations!]
Aomori carried Absol out of the cave. The Pikachu watched the scene with wide eyes, their small brains filled with big questions: Who is it? Why was it in the cave? Why is Aomori holding it?
Pikachu No. 1, equally confused, saw Aomori approach and say to it, "This is Absol, my Pokémon."
"Pika!" Pikachu No. 1 suddenly understood. 'This Pokémon must have been in Aomori bro's Poké Ball before and was just released now.'
'It must not be easy following Aomori bro. Poor thing.' Pikachu No. 1 looked at Absol with sympathy.
"Absol?"
And so, the Pikachu Village gained a new resident.
...
The Pikachu were very welcoming to the new resident, Absol, especially the small Pichu, who constantly tried to get Absol to play with them.
However, Absol was naturally inactive. It always followed Aomori, quietly watching him train in the clearing, watching him train in the cave, and watching him train under the waterfall.
Yep, a training fanatic confirmed.
The man and the Pokémon were both reticent, only occasionally exchanging glances. This form of interaction, which the Pikachu viewed as strange, felt perfectly comfortable to Aomori and Absol.
Absol grew exceptionally fast. By the fifth day after its birth, it had reached the size of a large dog, having barely passed its infancy stage.
Early that morning, after completing his usual physical and waterfall training, Aomori approached Pikachu No. 1 and the old Pikachu and expressed his intention to leave.
"Pika?!" Pikachu No. 1 was shocked.
"It's not exactly sudden."
In the past few days, Aomori could already execute an entire sequence of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist effortlessly under the small waterfall, meaning the training's benefit to him had become minimal.
As for the Pikachu's special training, Special Training 2.0 had hit a bottleneck. Only Pikachu No. 1, through sheer coincidence, had managed to concentrate a spiral current in its right hand and learn Thunder Punch; the rest of the Pikachu had made no progress.
Aomori believed sustained training was necessary for results, and he couldn't stay in Pikachu Valley indefinitely; he still had System quests to complete.
"Pikachu No. 1, do you want to come with me?" Of all the Pikachu in the village, only Pikachu No. 1 had potential that Aomori recognized.
"Pika?" Pikachu No. 1 pointed to itself.
"Mhm."
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu No. 1 shook its head frantically. Leave the lovely Pikachu ladies to accompany the Great Demon King?
Absolutely impossible!
"Pika, Pika Pika!" Pikachu No. 1 declared righteously.
"That's fair. Then, you should protect your village well." Aomori didn't insist. With over 800 Pokémon species in the outside world, was he worried he couldn't find a suitable one?
"Let's go, Absol."
"Absol!"
"Pika Pika, Pika Pi!"
With the tearful farewells of the Pikachu and Pichu, Aomori left Pikachu Valley with Absol.
...
In the forest, three Ekans slithered across the ground in a panic.
Suddenly, a figure descended from the sky, blocking the Ekans' path. Two Ekans turned hostile, accelerating fiercely, attempting to crash into the figure. He easily dodged them, grabbed their tails with a swift move, spun them around a few times, and slammed them to the ground.
When the dust cleared, both Ekans had spiraling eyes.
Ding!
[Congratulations to Player Aomori for defeating Ekans, obtaining 253 EXP, 23 Points.]
Ding!
[Congratulations to Player Aomori for defeating Ekans, obtaining 275 EXP, 25 Points.]
"Ekans!" The third Ekans, seeing the situation, had already turned and fled in the opposite direction.
"Absol!"
"Absol!"
A white figure shot out from the side, crashing into the unavoidable Ekans, pinning it against a tree trunk. Struck by the heavy impact, the Ekans was rendered unable to battle.
Ding!
[Congratulations to Absol for defeating Ekans, obtaining 250 EXP. Player Aomori obtains 50 EXP, 5 Points.]
"Absol!" Absol cried out happily.
Suddenly, the ground broke open, and a snake Pokémon several times larger than Ekans appeared behind Absol. It opened its fangs, aiming for Absol's neck.
It was Arbok, the evolution of Ekans! Its naturally cunning nature led it to use Dig to sneak attack Absol.
In this moment of crisis, Absol pushed off with its legs, and a white light appeared behind it. It dodged Arbok's poisonous fangs first, while simultaneously kicking its hind legs up, launching Arbok into the air.
The landing spot was directly in front of Aomori. He drew his right arm back like a bow, layers of electric energy coalesced onto his fist, and he slammed it down. Arbok was driven into a pit of earth, its eyes spiraling.
Ding!
[Congratulations to Player Aomori for defeating Arbok, obtaining 500 EXP, 50 Points.]
"Absol~" Absol lightly leaped back to Aomori's side, raising its head and letting out a soft cry.
"Excellent," Aomori praised, rubbing Absol's head.
From its initial clumsiness to fighting independently now, Absol had made significant progress over these few days, eating, sleeping, training, and battling alongside Aomori. It was well worth the praise.
Absol happily jumped twice and rubbed itself against Aomori's thigh.
Suddenly, Absol lifted its head and looked up at the sky, letting out a low growl.
Aomori followed its gaze, murmuring to himself, "Is a storm coming?"
...
"Bad luck, just bad luck..."
Vale was a rookie Trainer from Pallet Town. Shortly after entering Viridian Forest, he ran into a rainstorm. Even with a raincoat, he couldn't avoid the misfortune of being drenched.
The rain was getting heavier, and Vale could no longer see the path clearly. He was stuck between advancing and retreating, considering whether to turn back, when he vaguely saw a cave nearby where he could take shelter. He grit his teeth and struggled toward the cave.
Having finally made it into the cave and feeling the raindrops no longer hitting him, Vale sighed in relief. But that relief was quickly replaced by tension, as he saw that the large cave was already filled with many others seeking shelter.
"Rattata, Nidoran♀, Nidoran♂, Onix..."
There were also many Pokémon Vale didn't recognize. Normally, he would be excited to see them, but now?
Feeling the many hostile gazes, Vale felt a bitter taste in his mouth. "Bad luck, just bad luck..."
"Is that Vale? Over here!"
A familiar voice rang out. Vale focused his eyes. Behind layers of Pokémon figures, a familiar person was waving at him.
"Jack?"
Jack was also a rookie Trainer from Pallet Town, like him. They had frequent interactions and considered each other rivals. Seeing a familiar face gave Vale confidence. He cautiously walked toward Jack, under the watchful eyes of the Pokémon.
Strangely, next to Jack was a handsome young man, bare-chested and wrapped in animal skin below, with an unfamiliar Pokémon resting beside him.
Vale was about to exchange pleasantries with Jack when the handsome young man stood up. With a beautiful smile, he said to Vale, "I am Aomori. Want to play a round—no, I mean, would you like to have a Pokémon battle?"